David Gold tells West Ham fans there is still hope, and that the club is well-placed to survive relegation

West Ham United are in urgent need of a rescue mission, and so the bizarre
sight of a helicopter suddenly landing on one of the pitches at the club’s
Chadwell Heath training ground felt strangely appropriate.

Master and commander: David Gold and Avram Grant, along with everyone else involved in the club, face an against-the-odds battle for survivalPhoto: PA

With the letters ‘G-OLDO’ emblazoned on its side, there was little suspense over who might be visiting, although the fact that David Gold, the club’s 74-year-old co-owner, had arrived alone and so was piloting the helicopter certainly caught the attention of the players.

Gold’s blazer was also impossible to ignore. He explained that it had cost £700 from Dolce & Gabbana, but the finishing touch was a specially embroidered £100 badge on the breast. Above the initials ‘DG’ were three words: Determination, perseverance and courage.

They are qualities that West Ham will certainly need in abundance if they are to survive in the Premier League. Defeat tomorrow against Wigan would seal their fate and, in all probability, so would a draw.

Even Avram Grant, usually so understated, described the match as “must-win” and said that keeping West Ham up would be the happiest moment of his career. Gold put West Ham’s chances of survival at 20% but, after speaking with the club’s physio, there was at least some optimism.

“We are in a pretty awful place and it’s no longer in our hands, although I believe if we can get six points — and it’s possible but not easy — we give ourselves a chance,” Gold said.

“The reason I say that is not just out of blind optimism. The squad is all fit — I just got the sheet from the physio — and it’s great to see all the ticks. I haven’t seen one like that all season. We have got everybody fit apart from Mark Noble, who could be ready for Sunderland next week.

“Scott Parker plays a huge part. It’s already fired me up that he is going to travel and 90 per cent sure that he will play some part. I think that will galvanise the fans. To get out of this position would be remarkable. It would go down in Premier League history.”

Gold, though, is sufficiently realistic to have already considered the impact of relegation. He is adamant that the club’s finances are sufficiently robust and is drawing wider hope from the four promotions he helped oversee at Birmingham.

“There is no danger to the football club,” he said. “When we bought the club we budgeted for relegation in the first season. While David Sullivan and myself are here the club will not be in any danger.

“It’s a special skill dealing with a Premier League club that gets relegated and ensuring the squad is strong enough to get you back. People have failed and floundered. Leeds is a good example. Coventry were in the top flight for 30 years, got relegated and were never to be seen.”

The absence of any certainty about Grant’s future, however, is both conspicuous and ominous, especially as Gold felt that the board had financed a squad that could even contemplate European football.

“If he fails, it would be one of my worst days in football,” Gold said. “This is a great club. I would never say we are too good to get relegated but it would be a very sad day. We believe we did all the right things.

“We believed at the start of the season we were strong enough to stay up. We believed when we bought players in January. We saw some fantastic games and thought, ‘Is there still time to get into Europe?’

It just wasn’t to be. Injuries, bits of bad luck and we find ourselves at the bottom. I’m hurting just as a fan.”

Asked whether Grant would keep his job if West Ham were relegated, Gold said: “There’s not an answer for that at the moment. Nothing will be decided until we will sit down together at the end of the season.

Gold, though, maintained that he did not regret the appointment of Grant. “We do what we do and we do it because we think it’s best for the football club,” he said.